Best way to audition a CD player???

[Briz vegas]

Ok guys, help me out here.

I have a Naim 5x with Flatcap power supply for the weekend trying to decide if it is for me. Its about 6 grand new in Australia, but these pieces are a couple of years old. Against it I have my 3 year old NAD T562 DVD player - $1,200 when new, both running analogue into a Nakamichi 2 channel pre/power amp (I disconnected my av receiver all together as I was surprised at the results I was getting). The Naim is benefiting from new Nordst interconnects, while the NAD is connected via some 2 year old X stream cables worth half the price at about $90. Speakers are a pair of B&W 804S. I have a level meter by my side to make sure that they are as closely matched volume wise as possible.

The difference, well the Naim is a bit punchier in the bass and maybe a tad clearer with vocals more prominent, while the NADs vocals are a bit recessed. Turn up the volume and the Naim can be a bit in your face, while the NAD sounds more pleasant in things like the vocals. The naim sounds a little more together, not that the NAD sounds bad. I have noticed that the 1 watt lights on the amp come on for the bass on the Naim, but are not doing so for the NAD - this may be because of the slightly more dynamic signal, or the levels may be a bit higher on the Naim. SPL meter says they are pretty evenly matched in volume.

Conclusion. Well I don't want to jump to one just yet. Am I doing something wrong? The Naim sounded so much better than the Quad CD player I compared it to in the shop. Now at home it is only marginally better than my DVD player (albeit a good "budget" player of CDs).

Is is really true that a 6K well respected CD is only a shade better than a 1.2K DVD? What else can I do to give the Naim a fair hearing? Only idea I have at this stage is to swap the interconnects.

Thanks in advance

[wolfgang]

Am I doing something wrong? The Naim sounded so much better than the Quad CD player I compared it to in the shop. Now at home it is only marginally better than my DVD player (albeit a good "budget" player of CDs).

I have a level meter by my side to make sure that they are as closely matched volume wise as possible.

Why blame yourself. You heard about this level matching thing and tried it. Now you decide ........ do you trust your own ears or what the glossy audio magazines claim.

[GregLett]

Briz,

It's your pre-amp, it will limit what you hear, I've learned that first hand.

I bet if you are able to get a Naim pre in there you'll get what you're after.

[alebonau]

Briz,

It's your pre-amp, it will limit what you hear, I've learned that first hand.

I bet if you are able to get a Naim pre in there you'll get what you're after.

yes this could quite easily be the issue here. Pre's can really squash the revealing nature of a system as with the power amp used. Throtelling the soudn befroe it gets to the speakers.

Although nakamichi were top notch with their tape decks and in car cd players, really nto sure how their pre-pwr hold up.

worth exploring some options there, trying another integrated or pre-pwr from the likes of naim etc. I've heard a full naim system with some 805s once that soudned a nice combo.

[Briz vegas]

thanks guys
I think that everyone here has a point. Firstly, the Naim does sound better, just not by as much as I expected. That expectation was fueled by excellent reviews, although there was also my experience with the demo in the shop.

Secondly, the Nakamichi gear is late 70s, but it does sound significantly better than my Marantz receiver. Even here "significant" is subjective, I will go back to my receiver/power amp over the pre/power option just for the convenience as the improvement was certainly not night and day.

Unfortunately trying out alternative amplification is not an option this weekend.

I will swap the interconnects today and maybe even bring my B&W 705 to the front just to see what they do to the sound through a different speaker. If anything interesting arises I will report back.

[Briz vegas]

Quick PS. Like almost everyone here I am always looking for improvements to my sound system, however even my current system using the DVD player sounds pretty darn good. It does not sound strangled to my ears, I just figured that a good CD player would make it sound x amount better.

[GregLett]

Firstly, the Naim does sound better, just not by as much as I expected. That expectation was fueled by excellent reviews, although there was also my experience with the demo in the shop.

It will only sound as good as your pre will allow. You should arrange another
demo with a naim pre. If you are not willing to change your pre then, you're
right, it won't sound like you remembered, so getting the naim cd player won't
be worth it.

[alebonau]

It will only sound as good as your pre will allow. You should arrange another
demo with a naim pre. If you are not willing to change your pre then, you're
right, it won't sound like you remembered, so getting the naim cd player won't
be worth it.

I'd be trying another power amp or even a naim integrated as well. late 70s nakamichi is a hell of a long time ago and solid state pre & power amps and integrateds have come a loong way since.

[Briz vegas]

Swapping speakers and interconnects revealed nothing new. It would appear that the bottleneck to improving overall system performance lies elsewhere (such as the preamp/power amp as you guys are saying). Thanks for the suggestions.

Shame that the Naim will have to wait - I love that little swing out door, so much nicer than the tacky DVD type tray. It certainly gives it a quality feel.

[soundhound]

Most of the above is "sytem synergy" defined.
Surround that 6K cdp with 20K of pre, power, and speaks, and you will search for one to give you "the sound" you desire, being bigger differences will be heard, from the cdp.
By the same token you can build a system for 7-10K that will net you 90+% of what the 50-60K system will sound like.

[GregLett]

The Naim stuff is cool When i auditioned my XT4's it was on an all Naim setup.

[Russ L]

The Naim sounded so much better than the Quad CD player I compared it to in the shop. Now at home it is only marginally better than my DVD player (albeit a good "budget" player of CDs).

Can you take your NAD to the shop and do a head to head comparison running it through the Equipment in the Shop you originally tried the Naim on? See how they compare then, imagine you have to take the Naim back to the shop anyhow?... -Russ

[Briz vegas]

Zen and the art of CD player shopping

I took the Naim back to the shop and told my story.

This shop sells NAD as well so I asked about the NAD 542 (which is closely related to the DVD T562) vs the Naim 5x with flatcap. I think he was amused that such a comparison could be made. I was all auditioned out so did not bother asking for a demo.

After a tour of everything in the shop (and a conversation that seemed to cover everything from building construction standards to local Councillors - which was partly my fault) we arrived at a Conrad Johnson PV14 tube pre-amp that was on special. I have it now on a home demo. Its currently inserted in my system which is the NAD DVD, CJ pre, ye olde Nakamichi power amp, B&W 804s.

Now I'm happy. I may well revisit the CD player some time in the future, but for now my system sounds so much clearer and more detailed that my upgrade fix has been sorted. Its all a matter of correctly identifying the weak link in the chain.

Conrad Johnson has a HT bypass as well so I get the best of both worlds

[alebonau]

I took the Naim back to the shop and told my story.

This shop sells NAD as well so I asked about the NAD 542 (which is closely related to the DVD T562) vs the Naim 5x with flatcap. I think he was amused that such a comparison could be made. I was all auditioned out so did not bother asking for a demo.

After a tour of everything in the shop (and a conversation that seemed to cover everything from building construction standards to local Councillors - which was partly my fault) we arrived at a Conrad Johnson PV14 tube pre-amp that was on special. I have it now on a home demo. Its currently inserted in my system which is the NAD DVD, CJ pre, ye olde Nakamichi power amp, B&W 804s.

Now I'm happy. I may well revisit the CD player some time in the future, but for now my system sounds so much clearer and more detailed that my upgrade fix has been sorted. Its all a matter of correctly identifying the weak link in the chain.

Conrad Johnson has a HT bypass as well so I get the best of both worlds

well there you the go ! amazing the difference a good quality 2ch pre can make ! very underestimated pre's !

glad to read you have found what you want and the conrad johnson sounds an interesting thing, you should post a pic or somethign

[GregLett]

Good show Briz!!! CJ is a great stuff. I have a tube pre also and they are great!
Just wait till you try a new CD player again

[wkhanna]

I recently acquired a Carver C-19 pre with Sovtek tubes from my best friend. Hooked it up yesterday using my less than stellar CDP . I would never have thought such a difference could be so dramatic from a single component in the electronic chain.

Speakers, yes; but just swapping pre-amps?

Even my wife noticed! Now that is what I call dramatic!

[Boombox]

Yes, pre-amp is always overlooked. I listened to a Rotel setup (CDP & Power amp), Dynaudio speakers and a $3500 Meridian pre-amp. It was simply stunning. Dealer swoppped out the Meridian pre-amp for the Rotel RC1070, and the sound went 2-d and the soundstage narrowed.....did not sound bad.....but it sounded so, so, so much better with the Meridian there.....hmmm....great stuff... :T